West Nile Virus

Louisiana health officials say a Caddo Parish resident has died from the West Nile virus.

The individual who died was between 60 and 74 years old. Martha Whyte, public health chief in northwest Louisiana, told the Shreveport Times she could not provide other information, citing confidentiality rules.

Louisiana's 31 latest West Nile infections included one death, bringing Louisiana's total this year to 176 reported infections and 10 deaths from the virus.

State health officials say the latest cases are unrelated to Hurricane Isaac because it takes weeks for an infection to be reported. There also was a delay in reporting because the storm closed health care facilities and pushed public health laboratory staff into hurricane response activities.

State health officials confirm three more people have died from West Nile virus, bringing the total to nine so far this year.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals also said Friday that 53 new human cases of the virus have been confirmed and mark 145 reported infections so far in 2012 — the highest number of cases the state has seen in the past several years.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals says four new cases of West Nile virus bring this year's total to 14.

It says the new cases include the year's third nervous system infection — the infection's most dangerous form. That patient is in St. Tammany Parish; earlier neuroinvasive cases were reported in Rapides and Vernon parishes.

The other new cases were in Bossier and East and West Baton Rouge parishes. They include one patient with flu-like West Nile fever and two people without symptoms, found in blood donor screening.